•Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves through regulation and overtime, and turned aside two of three shootout attempts to record his 200th career win. He is now tied with John Vanbiesbouck for fourth on the Rangers all-time wins list. Lundqvist improved to 23-18-4 overall, including a 10-9-3 mark at home.
From Rangers Report:
Henrik Lundqvist:
“They needed some luck to get back in the game there. It felt like we were really on them, especially in the third. But they kept working hard and got the bounces. So there’s not much to say. We responded in a good way, though.
“You score that second goal, they tie it. It’s pretty tough mentally when you work so hard the whole game and finally get that second goal. We responded again with the third one, and then again they come up with the tying goal. So mentally it’s definitely a challenge. But we did a good job. I thought we came out pretty good in the overtime as well, and we made some really nice moves in the shootout. So, another big one tomorrow and hopefully we can keep this going.”
“They work hard in the offensive zone. They rotate a lot and have guys going to the net a lot. Pretty skilled. Good power play too. This was a fun game to play. It felt like the crowd was into it, too. Just a great feeling to get two in a row here. We have another two big games here this weekend. I look forward to it.”
“I felt pretty good today. Those last two goals were tough bounces. I felt like my positioning was there and I saw the puck pretty well. They were good in getting people and bodies in front of me the whole night … but we did a good job and the PK was really good.”
“I think it’s a lot of relief to get out with the two points. When we scored the second one, we felt like we had it. When we scored the third one we definitely felt like we had it. They had some luck there on the two goals—the bounce (off) our guy and the third one hit my head and in. But you’ve got to give it to them. They worked hard, and we responded in a good way.”
On the shootout:
“I know if I do my job and stay focused we have a good chance to win. We have some guys that have some really good moves. It’s important. It’s huge for us to have guys that can score goals like that in shootouts, because (those are) big points.”
On how he feels since the Devils game:
“Two wins, obviously you feel a lot better. My game is coming. I had a couple of games where I didn’t play that great, but it was over almost three weeks. It felt like a long time, but it wasn’t that many games. So sometimes you feel like you overreact because you’re not playing that much. But it feels good to be in there now and get minutes and help the team get wins. You’re more relaxed and it’s easier to play.”
On his 200th win:
“Yeah, it’s a great feeling to reach that. It’s a milestone for me, and I’m happy I’ve been able to be here for almost six years now, and I just hope I get the opportunity to stay here and get another 200, but we’ll see. I’m very happy I reached that. It’s a sign that I’ve been part of good teams over the last couple of years and I’ve been able to play a lot, too, so I’m happy.”
This just feels like a very important win, so I'm happy. Little bit of an article in Aftonbladets Sport magazine:
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Lundqvist became the second Swedish goalie ever to reach 200 wins. It's not difficult to guess that Lundqvist soon will be the Swedish goalie with the most victories in NHL history. The only one who has more - 210 - is Tommy Salo and he doesn't play anymore. "It hasn't been a goal in itself to reach 200 wins, not before the season at least. But the last few weeks I've seen in the stats that it was getting closer and it's nice to get it done," says the goalie, who's called king in New York. "Otherwise my personal goals are to get better every season, to win more games and reach more shutouts than I've done before. It's not always so easy for a goalie, after all this is a team sport, but I try to challenge myself all the time anyway."
Yes, if you already during your sixth season reach the milestone that the most succesful Swede needed ten seasons for, that might be a thought.
I do believe he will go down as the best Swedish goalie ever, and the best NY Rangers goalie ever. He has less than 10 years in the NHL, he is still under 30 years old, and he has already reached and surpassed quite a few milestones. Plus, he has that gold medal.
ReplyDeleteSo does Tommy Salo, but he's never been as good as Henrik. He doesn't have much competition for all time best Swedish goalie, he basically already is. As for the Rangers, there he still has some serious competition. But a few more good seasons and he'll beat those too, I think.
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